**3.5 Importance of insecticide**

Insecticides are widely used in the country by chemical retailers, farmers' organizations, farmers and post-harvest traders to protect their plants and products during production and post-harvest storage. The importance of plant protection products in agriculture is justified by their impact on increasing crop yields (cereals, banana and plantain, pineapple, tomato, rubber, cocoa, wood, vegetable and fruit crops, cotton, sugarcane, carrots, rice, oil palm, maize, coffee, logs, stocks, cabbage) by an average of 30–40%, reduction of damage caused by pests and diseases which can reach 30–50% of losses in the field or after harvest [11, 12].

Insecticides are applied to the environment to reduce the population and damage caused by insect pests below a level that cannot cause economic damage. They therefore play an important role in agriculture and public health. In Cameroon, public health, insect pests and/or vectors of importance include mosquitoes, house flies, cockroaches, bed bugs, midges. Insecticides are also used to control urban pests such as beetles and termites destroying ceilings and other furniture of houses.

**Figure 2.**

*Photo of a typical store where pesticides are sold. (a) and (b) Pictures of pesticides of retailers salers. (c) Picture of typical store where pesticides are sold (source: Pouokam, 2016; Cameroon Tribune 2021).*

#### **Figure 3.**

*Sample damage caused by pests and diseases: photos of bed bug and its effects on humans, fall army worm on maize leaves, cocoa black pod disease and mold on maize cobs.*

The use of insecticides has an advantage in terms of economic efficiency and improved human health and welfare (**Figure 3**).
